By this time in the book of Second Kings chapters 18 and 19, the Assyrians had humbled most nations in the then known world, excepting Egypt, and a very few others they had yet to turn their attention to. Judah was one of them. And now they felt it was time to add Judah to their trophies of wins.
Instead of proceeding with their military campaign right away, the servants of the Assyrian king took to psychological warfare intended to weaken and demoralise the people of Judah, and Hezekiah their king. They requested the people to surrender and acquiece to their most humiliating demands willingly, pointing out how worthless it was to resist.
No one they called upon had been able to save his neck, so nobody could save them. Not even God!
It is noteworthy that the Northern kingdom of Israel before this time had fallen and the people evacuated to Assyria. Sometimes, you do not know why you are still standing. You may have had close brushes with danger but survived somehow. There was no comet in the sky to signal why you have survived. If only you realised you were saved because God was standing with you. That would give you faith and confidence in the face of a new threat.
The Assyrians did not merely threaten and seek to humiliate Hezekiah, they turned their faces in contempt towards the Heaven. They placed the Living God at the same pedestal as the idols of the nations who proved impotent and incapable of saving those that trusted in them.
That was blasphemous. A real insult that was aimed at the omipotent God, by those who do not know Him.
Where an enemy disdains God in an effort to get at you or bring you down, they have done you a world of good without knowing it. Heaven never lets blasphemy pass without being addressed. Examples abound in the Bible. From Pharaoh in the days of Moses to Goliath, to Benhaddad the Syrian in Ahab’s time; Haman in Esther’s days to Herod, and so on.
It is important, however, to note that God usually does not deal with weighty matters of justice quickly. A prime example is found in Exodus 17, where Amalek attacks Israel from the rear, based on spurious accusations, and God tells Moses to write the matter in a book, thus leaving the exceeding breech for later. Where someone has also moved God with their devotion or sacrifice, He also does not perform His plans quickly.
It is one of the ways God’s method is dissimilar to our own. When somebody hurts or offends us, we go after them immediately. He on the other hand, is a God of process and we must always give Him the patience He needs to give us justice. Which is also why He demands that we rid ourselves of the toxins of the offence and possibly pray for the offenders. That way, we will be able to wait and not be in haste. We don’t even have the resources to handle the issue adequately by ourselves.
To commit everything to Him, we must stay devoted. In the Psalms, 110, He tells us to sit on His right hand side until, or while He, brings our enemies under our feet.